


The Assassin [unedited]

by Jammy



Category: Neopets
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Friendship, Other, Twins, idk what else to tag, it's the beginning of a friendship, pff, sorta?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-07
Updated: 2017-03-07
Packaged: 2018-09-29 21:18:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,166
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10144445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jammy/pseuds/Jammy
Summary: It's not the first time that Alphonse had called for an assassin to rid of someone, but it is the first time that his twin nephews are in the same establishment as an assassin.Damian however, thinks there's more to this 'coldhearted' killer than what meets the eye.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [werelupewoods](https://archiveofourown.org/users/werelupewoods/gifts).



> So in the same word document that I had typed up the story with Nickolas and Cathal with their 'twin sons', I had found this story. I actually like it, I love the interactions between Damian and Calicko [who goes by 'Drem'] and I would like to explore a little more of Damian and Jenner's relationship as well. Damian is very curious about Jenner and of course this puzzles the assassin--it's awesome, lol. 
> 
> [Calicko was made by the wonderful werelupewoods!  
> Aaaand, I should tag Em 'cause it has her husband in this story as well, lol. Love you bro!] 
> 
> \-- -- -- -- --

“I can’t believe Alphonse would hire some bozo to kill off his ex business partner.”

 

“Honestly, is it that _**hard**_ to believe?”

 

“I guess not.” Calicko looked up from one of the three books that were laid out before him to see that his older brother was doing, apparently he was sitting on the balcony’s marble railing. Calicko knew that while he’s looking down just where his brother was looking and he just shook his head shamefully. Their room had the perfect view of their uncle’s office, almost on the other side of the court yard. Nickolas had warned the twins to stay away and not pry in the contract signing between Alphonse and the assassin—the gelert assassin—out of all people. They have heard of him, who hasn’t? He was the best at what he did, so many have claimed, he was far more dangerous than any man that had walked in their realm. Damian was always the braver—maybe even more reckless—of the twins and though he did agree to their father’s wishes Damian always found a loop hole, and that loop hole was that Nickolas had said not to partake in the contract signing, that didn’t mean he couldn’t watch from the other side of the mansion. “Drem?”

 

“Damian.” Calicko called back turning the pages in one book and skimming it quickly, he then turn to another book just on the other side of him on the floor and flipped through that page as well until he came to the matching chapter. He didn’t bother looking up because he knew that his brother was going to probably ramble on some very weird accusation, probably the fact that it’s not fair for them to be ‘locked’ in their room while the contract was going on because they live in this house too so they should have the same decency to meet this man….or something.

 

“Why do you think someone would become an assassin?” Calicko couldn’t help the distorted expression that grew on his muzzle and he had to look up at his older brother to make sure he was talking to the right person. It was hard to see what he was thinking sometimes, usually Damian doesn’t ask questions so...dark. That was Calicko’s job, he takes pride in that, it brought him a little closer to…

 

“For money, Damian.”

 

“And?”

 

“And what? A long time ago someone probably owed someone a couple grand to that guy who’s talking to Al, he got pissed off, and then decided to killed him off because legal action was lost or some shit. Then, he found out that he liked that sort of thing and kept doing it.” Damian remained silent as he twirled a blossom that fell from the tree around in his fingers, his expression forever pensive as he kept staring at the hooded grey gelert down below who coincidentally stood at the window. There was something about him that Damian couldn’t shake off, something...something that made him feel hopeless, lost…burdened. Calicko had stopped flipping through the books and instead kept watching his brother, he knew that look, it meant that Damian had seen something. Or, rather, he was on the verge of seeing something. The twins couldn’t explain it, but sometimes they can just see the problems and hardships that people had to bare, sometimes they would even see someone’s past, it was something they haven’t completely learned how to control yet and what they read from their father’s books it was something that not everyone had. When Calicko saw the familiar flash that came behind Damian’s eyes he sat up on his knees, “Oooooh no you don’t! Damian—father said to stay away from that guy!”

 

“He said to stay away from the contract _signing_.” Damian corrected, his eyes not leaving the window until the same assassin he watched had looked up, right at his direction. Damian turns himself around and starts to climb down the balcony by using the vines that scaled the side of the mansion, Calicko hurried over and gripped the railing.

 

“It was nice knowing you, brother, I’ll make sure to tell everyone how you died—by becoming a gelert shish kebab.”

 

“Oh for fucks sakes, mate. The least you can do is keep a look out for me. Make sure that father doesn’t come out or—a servant or something.” Damian looks down just an instant to he can strategize as to where his foot was going next before finally descending, bobbing and weaving through the sturdy vines on the side of their uncle’s home. Calicko groans and heads back inside so he can grab one of the three books before returning to his newly appointed ‘post’ and watch over his careless older brother.

 

The instant Damian’s feet hit the ground the young gelert bolts to the window and gets below it, he’s not interested at all about the contract signing, he just wants to know when it’ll be over so he can get closer to the assassin. It didn’t take long before he had got under the window of Alphonse’s office, now, what he has to do now is wait. Unfortunately that meant that he had to sit in the grass, though he had no idea how long he was sitting under the window for he was debating if this was a good idea or not. Curse his conscious, well, it wasn’t like he could _hear_ anything in the conversation, the large glass windows made their voices inside sound muffled. So it’s not like he was completely infiltrating, besides there was something strange about this assassin and the curiosity was going to kill him if he didn’t get to the bottom of it. If someone was as dangerous, feared, and powerful as this guy then why is there this feeling of burden and dread lingering over him? Why...[Damian now realized the first epiphany] was he grey?

 

Did it usually take this long for someone to tell a guy to kill someone?

 

Damian takes a peek into the room and he sees the two older gelerts shaking hands and then Alphonse escorting the assassin out, this was his chance, still ducking down he follows their movements and watches them from one window to the next that almost outline the very first floor of the mansion. Just as Damian saw that he was coming to the front door he hurried off to behind one of the statues besides the fountains and ducked down, peeking just slightly so that he can see the entrance into the mansion. When the door began to open he pulled his head back behind the fountain and waited, listening closely to the very brief and awkward farewell. Well, it certainly meant that Alphonse and this man weren’t really friends. Damian carefully turned himself around when he saw the assassin walk past the fountain, he was ready to come out of his hiding place just before the cloaked man had stopped walking a few paces away. So Damian stayed still, he even halted his breathing hoping that it would help him remain quiet and motionless, he’s read that hunters had used the same tactic when they would deliver a killing blow to their prey. Maybe it was a good use for hiding? It had to be.

 

“Eavesdropping isn’t a good habit to pick up, boy.” the assassin growled over his shoulder just to where the statue stood, Damian could see that the other gelert’s hand is on his hilt ready to brandish his blade no doubt. The younger gelert huffs then stands up, walking away from his cover in hoping to show that he meant no harm and wasn’t going to hide any longer.

 

“Who are you calling ‘boy’, sir? I’m well over seventeen.”

 

“ _You_ , because that’s what you are. You are still a child.” the assassin comments without any hesitation and he finally turns around to come face to face his spy. Damian crosses his arms over his chest and he stands proudly across from this stranger, though he doesn’t really realize that the gelert assassin is closely observing him. He can read people very well and, fortunately, for the young yellow gelert it’s easy to tell that he wasn’t a threat, but it made him more curious as to why he was following him.

 

“Even though in Meridellian laws I can pretty much marry and attend to legal announcements? Join a mason guild or even become a knight?” The assassin shakes his head pitifully and finally removes his hand from the hilt of his sword so he can calmly gesture to the teenager in front of him,

 

“First of all, boy--”

 

“Damian.”

 

“Fine, Damian, first of all: more than _half_ of underage marriages in Meridel are arranged, and only by the parents from both families. You do not get to pick which woman you want to marry, if you so desire to marry a woman. If women are not your fancy than there’s an even less percentage of other families letting their sons marry other men or androgynous children. Secondly: You may _attend_ legal announcements but your voice will be over-ruled until three weeks after your twenty-third birthday--”

 

“Wait, you got to wait three weeks after you turn twenty-three before you can even _**say**_ something in the court? Why?”

 

“Well you see, many years ago it was common for young married men to be killed around their twenty-third birthday—an act of royal sabotage you may claim, if someone wanted a specific law made or such and there was someone who was apposed of said law with, oh I don’t know, five boys who are above the legal age than that means you already have six votes ruled against you. Back then announcements were much smaller so six votes was equivalent to the majority of the court. Many of these royals who committed such acts also claimed it was unfair for an ‘under aged, dead child’ to still have a valid vote on legal affairs. Thus the ‘third week’ rule, section A was created. Oh, and even when you survive that three week mark your opinions might still be over ruled by the other royals because, unless a very kind family member has left you with a land to inherit, you have no form of property—which won’t be applicable until you reach twenty-five. And lastly, there is no legal benefits for being in the masons guild besides playing with boulders all day, and good luck in trying to find a knight who is searching for a seventeen year old to be their squire. Knights will search for squires who are at least fourteen, any younger and they are a page, and older—they are a waste.”

 

“Wow.” Damian mutters under his breath and he can’t help but make a soured face, “That sucks.” ‘Indeed’ the assassin comments plainly, he moves the weight from one hip to the other and continues to watch the teen very closely and then blinks back in surprise when he realizes then that the young pet he stood in front of was wearing the Devant house colors. Surely that meant he was supposed to know all of this stuff already.

 

“Shouldn’t you be studying? This is all the basic knowledge a royal must know by the time they come of age.” the young gelert slides his hand through his dark hair and groans a little, though he can’t see it a grin slightly tugs at the assassin’s muzzle, he remembers being that age and not wanting to do anything else but explore the property around his family’s estates, causing trouble and more importantly—avoid homework. Of course, the less interesting homework—the homework that involved remembering more than a hundred useless back-stabbing royal rules and the like.

 

“I….uh….should, but I don’t wish to become a royal—honestly I don’t really know what I want to do, really.”

 

“Unfortunately for us, we cannot choose where to be born, Damian, though some argue we can change what we do with our life.”

 

“I guess so...” Damian mumbles a little more under his breath and he looks back up seeing that the assassin was just standing there and not commenting anything else, well, he’ll just have to ignore this ‘caught’ feeling and stick with his plan. He stands up a little straighter and tries to clear his throat. “You’re a royal...obviously, if I just got schooled by you.” ‘certainly’ the other answers with a grin still on his face and Damian rolls his eyes. “Which royal house are you from?”

 

“In what way would that benefit you, I wonder?” the assassin growls again and this time he too crosses his arms, his fingers are tapping against his arm as he contemplates what exactly this teenager wants to know at the same time he’s trying to hold on to his patience. A short hollowed laugh escapes from him once Damian replies that he didn’t know, he just felt like he wanted to know a little more about him. “How touching, you want to know a killer personally.”

 

“You’re not a killer.” Damian nearly blurts out, the air he breathed gets trapped in his lungs once he says that and sees the assassin tense painfully still. The young gelert swallows hard, thinking that he might’ve said some sort of threat, as if he was trying to deny this man’s power and strength. He was just insisting that he sees something else in him, the grey pet who stood still—looking as though he wasn’t breathing himself—knew what Damian meant and didn’t really know how to feel about it. There were times when he was confronted with old friends once after he had became an assassin and they all claimed that he wasn’t a killer, he was forced to ignore their statements but this young royal in front of him, a complete stranger...claiming that he wasn’t a killer it made him feel odd….but also a little hopeful. “I-I’m uh...I’m sorry I didn’t mean to offend you--”

 

“Damian Devant Callahan!” a loud voice boomed from behind the two, the teenager didn’t bother turning around because he knew exactly who it was that had used his full name. The assassin on the other hand couldn’t help but turn around and was greeted with the familiar sight of Nickolas Devant, his clients older—and much taller—brother. The blonde gelert stomped over with another young teen behind him that looked just like Damian except with small purple glasses, looking as though he too had been caught doing a crime. Damian flinches a little as Nickolas tugs on his ear, the boy’s eyes now moving to the floor. “I have told you to stay away from the contract meeting and now you have disobeyed me--”

 

“Do not be too harsh on him, Nickolas, your son wasn’t at the meeting at all.” Nickolas looks up surprised at the assassin who decided to stand up for his trouble-making child, the cleric lets go of Damian’s ear and he shakes his head shamefully, sincerely.

 

“I’m terribly sorry for his behavior, Jenner. He’s got my curiosity and, well, a few pinches of mischievousness from his father’s side.” well now that’s curious, these boys have another father as well—then again, the name Callahan does sound familiar to him as well, wasn’t that another royal gelert family? He had to go investigate this. In the meantime Jenner waves a hand as if to refuse the apology, he insists that at Damian’s age all he did was get into trouble and defy his parent’s wishes as well. He should’ve expected it, and there was no harm in the teen talking to him since it wasn’t about the contract. Nickolas looks relieved once he hears this and sighs, “Thank you, still, he should’ve been a little more courteous about meeting sensitive arrangements---”

 

“Mr Rathbone was telling me about a bunch of stuff that royals are supposed to know, father.” Damian said grinning from ear to ear to play it off like an innocent curious teenager. “I didn’t think that he knew so much about royal-like things.” Nickolas raises a brow to his son, about to comment until his expression changes to that of disbelief to surprise and then to awe, all within the same second. Jenner catches the changes but he doesn’t comment on it, he knows that clerics can see into people far better than he can so maybe it could be that he’s seen just what his son was doing initially. He makes a mental note for next time so that he can bring it up to Nickolas the next time he sees him, hopefully, Alphonse has been hiring him for years so he doubts that their business arrangements will suddenly be caught off in the next couple weeks.

 

“Yes, yes, Mr. Rathbone is very intelligent but he shouldn’t be the one lecturing you.” Nickolas says grabbing his son by the shoulders, “Say goodbye and then off you go to study.”

 

“Yes father.” Damian sighs and he bows slightly to the gelert assassin. “Um—no hard feelings, I hope Mr. Rathbone, it was fun talking to you, though.”

 

“None at all, and please, I’d rather prefer it if you call me Jenner.” he says with a slowly growing smile though he turns himself around, carelessly tossing the end of his cape over his shoulder as he did so. “Everyone else does—and a good afternoon to you too, Nickolas. I hope to see you soon.”

 

“If my brother keeps me hold up here at his mansion than you will.” the cleric laughs and to his relief he hears a laugh from the assassin just as he crosses through the other side of the gate. Damian, Nickolas and Calicko watch as Jenner slowly disappears down the road, the younger twin looks up at his father and then to Damian, asking if his brother was going to be punished. “Well, your brother did disobey my request...but I will let this moment slide, I know you can’t help it.”

 

“What is it that he saw, father?” Calicko asked with a raised brow, Damian looks over at his brother and shrugs his shoulders,

 

“I told you—he just seems different.”

 

“Well, the sooner you get done with your studying then the sooner I can teach you a new meditation technique.” Nickolas says grabbing his other son by the shoulder and ushering them around and back into the home, the cleric doesn’t want to say it aloud but he’s both excited and frightened at just how powerful his boys have gotten in using—or not using—their Insight. It looks like it might be time for him to start teaching them on how to control it better, for their own sake. “This technique will be different from the others, and this one—will change the way you see your life, and the life of others.”


End file.
